Movie review: Speed Racer

I may never have seen the cartoon it is based on, but I have seen the Speed Racer movie and it's a thrill ride! As a matter of fact, it does look like a cartoon for the most part, which is OK for a movie like this one. It is live action, but with a lot of CG. It holds very well on the Imax screen I saw it on. The type of races we see are way over the top and are fun to watch, with lots of action. The music is fun too, the story is interesting and the actors are good.

The movie is directed by the Wachowski brothers (Andy & Larry), of The Matrix fame. It stars Emile Hirsch as Speed, Matthew Fox as Racer X, John Goodman as Pops (Speed's father), Susan Sarandon as Mom and Christina Ricci as Trixie, Speed's girlfriend (we don't get to see her a lot, unfortunately, but it suits the story). There are actually a lot more interesting characters, but you can go to IMDB for those details...

If you are looking for a realistic car racing movie, go somewhere else. On the other hand, if you are looking for family friendly, special f/x heavy action, impossible racing moves and just plain silly fun, this is a good choice. It's over two hours (2:15), but it sure didn't feel like it.

Movie review: Surf's Up

On June 17 (still catching up!), I saw Surf's Up, the latest computer generated animation from Sony. Another penguin movie...! will they take over the Earth? I won't hold it agaisnt Sony, since these movies takes a long time to do. I mean, I see plenty of movies with humans in them, after all. And the animation is very good, has we have come to expect. Some of the evening/night scenes in particular looked absolutely real.

The story, as the title implies, is about surfing and the creatures that practice it, mainly penguins, but also a chicken. It's very funny and the voices are well chosen for the characters. If you like funny animations, you should like this one. For those who leave during the credits, be warned that there is one final little scene at the very end...